Given the youth and depth of the OL, I don't think that anyone expected "great", "good", or even "above average" from the offense. I think "average" or even "below average" would have been acceptable to most reasonable people (and likely resulted in 10 wins when you think about how close every loss except MSU was).

However, with a somewhat experienced quarterback, two senior tackles (one of whom is going to go at the top of the first round in the NFL), and at least average talent (if not depth) at RB and WR, the complete and total disaster that this offense has been has to fall on coaching.

Having no experience in the middle of the line does not resign an offensive unit to be terrible, it just means they won't be great.

Analysis can be both quantitative and qualitative. One thing you might want to address in your analysis is how coaching, practice, and play calling with the players on your roster impact game results. This staff has issues on the offensive side. The players are not performing well either. Correcting performance issues happens with experience AND solid coaching. The numbers are only part of the story.

Apologize to seniors in advance for what will transpire. Tell the 60 recruits that "something came up" and cancel their visits. Hug your wife. And refuse a headset and long sleeves because it's Hoke-y.

Stuck in 1969 is a big reason why Michigan is an average, far-from-elite program. Michigan fans still worship Bo, even though he's been away from the program for 20 years. If Michigan wants to actually win football games and enter into this century, it's time to move on from Bo and the Michigan Man BS and play to win national championships. We are Notre Dame. Actually no, we are worse. At least Notre Dame isn't stuck on a coach who last had a direct impact on the program 20 years ago.

The fact that every. single. time. we face any kind of adversity we reference a guy who hasn't coached in 25 years means that we can never live in the present and focus on the future.

We have gone from making the "michigan man" thing be something extra to placing it in the forefront of our program. Harbaugh and Miles would have been great hires regardless of their affiliation with Michigan. Their connection to the program would have been an added bonus. The reason we have Brady Hoke, who had an all-time losing record and no history of winning championships, is because we have so many people inside and outside the administration that puts the connection to Bo ahead of everything else.

Yes. Bo was a great coach. Yes. 1969 was a big upset. Yes. He gave a great speech and inspired people. But, he has no more impact on the current team than Yost, Crisler, etc, or at least, he shouldn't have any impact on the current team.

The man has been dead for 7 years. Over that time he's gone from an old coach that we loved to a god that we as a program worship. Anyone who doesn't worship him is deemed a heretic. And now we're about to get smoked by Ohio State. They have a coach who's won 2 national titles and is on the verge of his third season where he's won all his games, which, just for note, Bo never did. Why do they have that coach? Because Ohio State has spent less time time worrying about Woody Hayes and patting themselves on the back for games played four decades ago and more time looking at the college football landscape's change and responding accordingly.

Very well said. Kind of tried to say this yesterday but could not express myself as well as you have. Someone tried to say I was criticizing Bo which was not the case. Michigan needs to move forward and live in the present.

"Guys! Gather around, gather around. Now...look . I mean, what can I say? This is one of the best teams in the country and their program is light years ahead of ours. Just try not to lose by 30 plus. KTHANKSBYE."

Have the guys gather around. Point at each one and tell them how much I care about them maybe clap a few times just to emphasize that point. Lead them all in a round of The Victors. Walk out. I've done all that I can do.

There is no greater challenge for a coach than trying to rally the troops after so many disappointments. You can talk til you're blue in the face. IF, and I stress if, some kids have lost faith in a coach or the staff, nothing you can say as a coach will change their performance. Hoke has an incredibly tough task this week. His kids are down, his qb is reeling, and the fans are revolting. IMO, this week is paramount to Coach Hoke's future here at Michigan. Not necessarily the presumed outcome of the game, but whether or not the kids will respond and "play for him". I don't envy his current position.

Hoke's head coaching mettle will be tested this week, that's for sure.

Best he can do is minimize lingering damage from previous games and get their focus on the upcoming game. Win or lose, if they play with intensity and focus then Hoke will have succeeded in that goal. But if they play as if they don't care, then Hoke will have failed in that goal, and that will be a very big problem for Hoke.

And keep them inspired. It's been a tough, disappointing season but this is the one week of the year that can change everything. Has nothing to do with my post, but this team is 10 points away from being 10-1. That's crazy. Imagine how different the tone of the fans would be...

What draws me to sports is the psychology of competition and winning. How does one man motivate a group of men whose spirits have been, if not broken, then damaged? How does one player who carries the weight of the team's success and failures feel confident again after having a series of bad performances? Can the team rally around him unconditionally? More than schemes and playcalling, these things will be the key to how we perform. The players need to feel, after 60 minutes of play, no regrets. No wishing they could take back a play. They need to know deep down they did everything right and to the best of their ability. And if the other team plays better, then so be it. You can't hang your head in that situation. Don't worry about winning. Worry about playing your position like you've never played it before.

I become the D line coach and my pal Greg keeps his spot while a new coach with an actual plan that can work takes over. The entire offensive coaching tree is let go and the future is finally embraced with a coaching system that's relevant and realistic.

Hoke doesn't have an answer for OSU. He would need the Bucks to self immolate in order to win. Actually, Gardner would have to produce several long drives that result in TDs, which we haven't consistently accomplished all season. We would need at least three defensive turnovers with one resulting in a score and at least three "three and outs" in order to have a chance. On top of that, we would have to limit turnovers to one or less.

Now, what are the odds that happens considering we are going against a more talented and better prepared team. I'm realistically hoping we make them sweat and don't roll over in front of the home crowd.

You have to play up the us vs. them/underdog theme. No one believes in you, except the team and the coaches, so let's prove them wrong. You need to rebuild confidence and get everyone to believe in the plan. You need to get each player to buy into playing their best game of the year. You need to play up the greatest upset/ending Urbz streak. It's a one game season that can wipe out a lot of bad stuff that has happened so far. I don't doubt he'll do these things because he understands how important this game is to everyone in the Michigan family. Also, this is his dream job and I would expect him to fight for it, wouldn't you?

Is there anyone on here who's actually going to the game? All you no shows and negativity is an insult to the seniors and team members who work their butts off and want a crazy hostile Michigan crowd for their biggest game. Are we becoming USC or Miami who only shows up to the games when their team is good? PSU and Nebraska have crazy crowds and they haven't been relevant in years.

But besides that, lay it all on the line (like they should every game.) Since we're going to get absolutely crushed we should at least play to salvage a shred of respect. Ohio should have absolutely no concern about facing us, so we should completely sell out and blitz the hell out of them, go uptempo, take shots downfield, and throw the kitchen sink at them.

Chances are we'll continue to focus on things that consistently don't work, and sadly our talisman from last year Devin will likely end up even more injured and beaten down than he already is.

from the 95/96 squads to talk to the team. Similar situations for both teams (albeit we were better then). Hope it provides a spark. Also, talk to DG and tell him to just play ball - throw caution to the wind and have some fun again. We are underdogs, embrace it.